


Dust And Echoes - 50 Different Shades of Gray

by HighVelocity



Category: Transformers (Bay Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-06
Updated: 2012-01-06
Packaged: 2017-10-29 02:06:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/314656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HighVelocity/pseuds/HighVelocity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>1sentence challenge, theme set Gamma.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dust And Echoes - 50 Different Shades of Gray

#01 - Ring - "Someone call for a medic - ?" and that's the first thing he hears from the cool, quiet red-white-blue mech with the visor and battlemask; Trailbreaker can't help it, and he has to fight to stifle laughter at the slightly sardonic tone.

#02 - Hero - "... for managing to knock out  _both_  frontliners with one arc welder, you deserve a medal."

#03 - Memory - As a late-model medic, First Aid doesn't see as much as combat action as the (idiot)CMO does - he's just not built for the kind of stress - but he does end up in the frontline every now and then, absolutely hating it and absolutely hating the apparent inability of Certain Superiors to remember that medic =/= frontliner, no matter how well they take to combat training.

 _#04 - Box - Trailbreaker finally corners the elusive slip of a medic, caging him in; First Aid, annoyed, punches him._

#05 - Run - "IT'S CALLED A QUARTERLY CHECKUP FOR GOOD REASON, YOU SLAGGERS!" comes the yell, shocking everyone into stunned silence; one good glare from the formerly-thought-of-as-quiet medic has everyone falling into line faster and neater than if Optimus Prime himself had barked out the order.

#06 - Hurricane - Violence sparks around them, harsh and unforgiving, but they move through, appearing untouched; Trailbreaker can only stop and stare, hand out to hold back First Aid and his team, as Ratchet and Ironhide - veritable gods and legends in their own right - work the field with a skill and grace many can only aspire to.

#07 - Wings - The gestalt intimidates him, for sure, but thus far they've all been nothing if not friendly to him - 'Breaker makes damned sure to keep it that way, after watching the Aerials run down some unfortunate mech that'd been tooling around with Fireflight.

#08 - Cold - First Aid, for some reason, has a temperature range that runs cooler than any mech he's known; Trailbreaker finds this faintly alarming the first time he cajoles the medic into joining him on the berth.

 _#09 - Red - The trimming over the black mech's hips draws the medic to it like a moth to a flame; First Aid caves to temptation and bends to drift a static charge over it, gratified at the sudden gasp from the bigger mech._

#10 - Drink - "I ain't carin' if y're claimin' to have still a quarter tank, medic, y're finishin' this to the very last drop and that is final."

#11 - Midnight - Someone's commline beeps, and the shift of limbs drags both out of recharge; but only one mech winds up rushing out of the quarters, and Trailbreaker wonders if he's ever known First Aid to actually make it through a full recharge cycle.

#12 - Temptation - " - over-stressed hydraulics, check, wrecked gears, check - damned, mech, you should know better than to play grab aft with 'Aid when he's on duty, no matter how sleek his rear is - split casings, check..."

#13 - View - He's been around to some of the loveliest places in the city, but he's never seen the  _city_  the way Trailbreaker shows him - here, almost from the air, perched on the steep edge of a rocky crag with the vast strings of glittering lights marching away from their feet - First Aid is enraptured.

#14 - Music - A faint hum resonates in the air as First Aid works on circuitry in a black arm, something that only seems to happen around him, and Trailbreaker fancies that he can almost see the vibration of sound - Jazz probably could, come to think of it, or Blaster, maybe Soundwave - that thought's accompanied by a sudden flash of 'not what's mine' and Trailbreaker laughs at himself, ignoring the sideways glance from the medic.

\------------------------------

#15 - Silk - That night, 'Breaker idly wonders if all the medics are this smooth, this elegant in the way they move; 'Aid writhes underneath him as black fingers skim over the gleaming glosscoat and between armour to tease at perfectly oiled joints, and when the medic reciprocates, Trailbreaker can't think at all.

\------------------------------

#16 - Cover - "Y're not made  _for this_ , 'Aid - " he chokes out, fingers pinching shut broken lines, trying to stem the slow bleed out of vital fluids.

#17 - Promise - "It'll be all right," the red-white-blue mech whispers, working desperately to clamp bleeders; "I swear to Primus, 'Breaker, it'll be all right, just trust me."

#18 - Dream - And he's gone, again, moving through debris and broken frames like sharp white light, with Hot Spot close behind, leaving Trailbreaker to wonder if he isn't hallucinating - it sure as the Pit below feels like 'Aid drugged him up to his optics, damn the mech.

\------------------------------

#19 - Candle - "Normally, I wouldn't be on the field, sure, 'cuz it 'ain't m'job' - but we're down one too many mechs, Prime, an' I ain't about to be wastin' my time twiddling thumbs with while my mechs are out there riskin' their lives, so do what you will, I ain't about to care overmuch," the strategist snaps, slamming down the 'pad on the table with a finality that makes even the regal visage on the holoscreen wince.

#20 - Talent - "I'm  _sure_  you meant to annoy the Prime," 'Aid smarts off when the holoconference ends, patting wide black shoulders lightly - Trailbreaker groans, forehead thunking against the desk again.

\------------------------------

#21 - Silence - Trailbreaker's just come out of yet another meeting with the higher-ups, and all he wants is some recharge; but not seeing the medic in his quarters has him worried, and he winds up prowling the base for the sleek white figure, who he eventually finds staring at a memo 'pad, detailing names and deployment details, a deep-seated sense of  _something_  hanging around the mech.

 _#22 - Journey - "Tell me you'll be back, 'Breaker, that's all I need to know."_

#23 - Fire - Trailbreaker remembers those words, remembers the tone, remembers the desperation; he scrambles out from underneath the overhang as his teammates provide covering fire and vows to himself, dodging 'Con counterfire, that    
_he will get out of this_ , like so many times before; he's got a date to keep, after all, and it wouldn't be good to keep his medic waiting.

 _#24 - Strength - "Y'know what, 'Aid - I don't need to tell you I'm gunna be back," he smiles, laying a hand over white chestplates; "'Cuz I think you already know."_

#25 - Mask - "His battlemask? Oh, he don't take that off, ever," Streetwise says in response to something cutting and clever from some other mech; 'Aid's faint smile is hidden, because he's done so before, and only for one mech outside of his gestalt.

#26 - Ice - "Holy wingnuts, wouldja lookit that - some idiot's 'bout ta get slagged," Groove mutters to a resigned Silverbolt, whose wings droop imperceptibly as First Aid stalks by them, looking calm as you please, until one really reads the glint of light off his visor, and the unusual predatory stance of the small medic.

#27 - Fall - Shoulder to shoulder he stands with his brothers; here is where the scale tips and First Aid, for once, forces down instinct and readies his firearm.

\------------------------------

 _#28 - Forgotten - Etched into red above Trailbreaker's hip is a small glyph; the field medic is puzzled, because it reads 'medic', but Trailbreaker waves him off with a soft laugh and tells him to get back to saving mechs._

#29 - Dance - Lines ebb and flow like old moves he'd learnt long ago from a certain mech, the memory prompting Trailbreaker to pause in his inspection of a strategy, and grin as an idea hits.

#30 - Body - Shrapnel has cut lines into the black mech's plating, and the field medic is loathe to move him - the projected trajectory has some of them lodged probably where moving would sever vital lines and kill him - but Trailbreaker shrugs, tells him it's okay, and if they don't move they're dead petrorabbits anyway.

 _#31 - Sacred - Slightly wary, 'Aid does eventually retract his visor; Trailbreaker, despite the gravity of the situation, blurts out the first thing that comes to mind - "Primus, they're so gentle."_

\------------------------------

#32 - Farewells - He'd nearly forgotten,  _nearly_ , but Trailbreaker's feet crush into rich organic groundcover and topsoil as he moves, the large black bulk of his frame battle-worn and scarred, and suddenly,  _suddenly_ , memories swamp him fast and hard, making the Sprinter choke with the force of everything he'd held back over the long vorns.

#33 - World - "It's so.. it's strange."

\------------------------------

#34 - Formal - "Let Primus be my witness, let my superior officers be my witness, let my fellows an' friends be my witness," he sings out, strong and confident, the faintest of grins tilting lip components, "That I, Trailbreaker, Autobot Defensive Strategist, would propose a bonding of sparks to this mech, my lover, my life; First Aid, Autobot Assistant Chief Medical Officer - oh, slaggit, Prime, I ain't doing it, it's gunna drive me  _nuts_ , stop _laughing_  - 'Aid, bond with me?"

#35 - Fever - 'Aid's still much too cool to the touch, even after all this while, and 'Breaker takes especial pleasure in driving him to white-hot on infrared.

#36 - Laugh - Prowl picks up on the unusual symmetry that exists between them one morning, prompting a grumpy Ratchet to try his best to wriggle out of a Topkick's lap('Hide glowers at him and refuses to let him budge), while Trailbreaker smirks and snags  _his_  medic.

#37 - Lies - "No sparklings."

 _#38 - Forever - Hidden by the side of First Aid's hip is a small line of glyphs; so far, only Ratchet's noticed the way Trailbreaker drifts fingers over that spot, again and again, tracing out the jags and dips of his designation._

#39 - Overwhelmed - "I love you."

#40 - Whisper - 'Aid, one day, notices a pair of black mechs conversing in hushed tones; he doesn't ask, but an unspoken tension seems to have vanished.

#41 - Wait - "... you can't be serious, what d'ya mean no sparklings?!"

#42 - Talk - "You and I," First Aid growls, something about his tone hinting at a smirk, fingers tangling into neck cabling, sending chills down the Sierra's backstruts, "You and I both, need to have a bit of a... discussion."

\------------------------------

#43 - Search - "C'mere, 'Aid, lookit this - lookit the  _view_ ," Trailbreaker grins, dragging the Sprinter out of the berth(at a way ungodly hour, too, damn him) and showing him the lines of constellations in the night sky, old and new.

 _#44 - Hope - "Thank you for waiting, Trailbreaker," he murmurs, shivering, unbelieving still, hands ghosting over shoulders, chestplating, road armour, every inch of the defensive strategist he can reach._

#45 - Eclipse - "Switch over your visual bands, idiot, before you burn out your receptors!" comes the fast, furious snap from the Sprinter as high noon turns to midnight; Trailbreaker can only give him a semi-goofy grin before acquiescing.

 _#46 - Gravity - "You're my star," he whispered fervently, clutching the smaller mech to him; "An' I swear to ya, 'Aid, do everything I can to make sure the orbit never decays."_

#47 - Highway - Neither of them are made for fast moves - that's okay, because they're happy hanging back and watching the madcap Lambo twins try to persuade their tactician and saboteur into a race.

\------------------------------

#48 - Unknown - There was no memorial, no grand ceremony, nothing; just driving snow and silence when medic and defensive strategist walked into the shoes of their predecessors, and shared a grim smile, each taking on roles they never truly thought they would fill, in this capacity - Chief Medical Officer and head of the Defensive Units.

\------------------------------

#49 - Lock - "Look at me, 'B," whispers the CMO, urgent and low with his gorgeous blue optics locked to the Sierra's visor and battlemask pulled back, hands gripping the sides of his helm, "Look at me, don't look away, don't you ever, now listen, listen closely because I've been saying this all my life and I'll say it until the end - I love you, Trailbreaker, don't you ever,  _ever_  dare leave me, don't you dare - "

#50 - Breathe - "I can't  _breathe_ , 'Aid,' he gasps, every inch of his cooling systems and intake regulators stuttering, choking, voice brittle with static, "I - Primus, 'Aid,  _Aid_  - "

#50.25 - Breathe - "We don't - need to," the Sprinter says, softly, hands sliding away and over his mate's bared spark; part of it peels away and Trailbreaker screams, but then it's over and 'Aid's own barriers against the pain of an imminent sparking rip to shreds, bowing him over the Sierra and the softly chirring protoform of a sparkling, biting down on a scream.

\------------------------------

#50.5 - "Hide, an' Seek," Trailbreaker announces proudly; First Aid huffs in exasperation, cradling what seems to be their first airborne bitlet in vorns, her small spindly arms grabbing at the air in glee.


End file.
